


A Matter of Justice

by Armed_With_Knitting_Needles



Series: A Matter of Time [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: But he's not quite evil yet, Ganondorf is a jerk, Gen, Justice, Kokiri, Language Barrier, Language Difficulties, Link has problems, Miscommunication, Politics, Post-Game, Questions of Morality, Questions of ethics, but not a whole lot, gerudo, i had a lot of fun with worldbuilding in this, there's a little bit of violence, this kid needs help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-01-10 20:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18415751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Armed_With_Knitting_Needles/pseuds/Armed_With_Knitting_Needles
Summary: Link returns to his childhood in order to warn Hyrule of Ganondorf's folly. The Gerudo King deserves to die before he can do any more damage. However, things are far more complicated than Link realized. Navi has vanished, Hyrule is on the brink of war with the Gerudo, and Zelda isn't the wise queen he knew in the future, but a naive princess. The only crime Ganondorf has committed in this timeline is killing the Great Deku Tree, and what right does the King of Hyrule to try a man for crimes against the Kokiri?





	1. A Job to Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story explores what happens after The Ocarina of Time. I was never really satisfied with the canon explanation of the child timeline. 
> 
> Language:  
> Link speaks Kokiri. Navi translated for him during the Ocarina of Time, so Link while Link can understand quite a bit of Hylian, his ability to speak it is somewhat lacking. Kokiri only has two tenses: what can't be changed, which is mostly past and present, and what can be changed, which is mostly future. Between that and time-travel, Link is constantly messing up his Hylian tenses, which I have decided work like in English.
> 
> The Great Deku Tree:  
> I decided that the Deku Tree is already dead in this timeline. If he wasn't there would be no reason for Link to leave the forest and it would leave too many unanswered questions.

Link gripped the master sword as he was jarred back to reality. The last notes of Zelda’s lullaby faded into the distance. The world spun around him. He was 10 again. His body felt too small and weak. It always did when he traveled back. He reeled as he realized he wouldn’t be traveling forward again. Ganondorf was dead. At least, Ganondorf was dead in the future, but he was still a danger in the present. He needed to warn them. He needed to find Zelda.    

Link stumbled as he let go of the sword. The world was too big and he was too small. He took a breath. This would pass it always did, but it worse this time. He looked to ask Navi, but he couldn’t find her. She wasn’t next to him or in his hat like she usually was. He reached out and could distantly feel her flying out one of the high windows of the temple. It didn’t matter, they’d find each other later. She deserved a break. 

He vomited when he walked outside. It was too bright. There was too much, but he had to go warn Zelda. He had to get to the castle. He let go of the wall and forced himself to take a step. One step became two and two became a halting walk.

He started to feel better as he walked through Castletown. The world was still too big and Navi wasn’t with him,  the sun no longer burned and his head had mostly stopped spinning. By the time he got to the castle gates sneaking in past the guards was child’s play.

Zelda was in the same place as the first time he met her. Through the small courtyard window he could see Ganondorf kneeling before the king. Zelda turned to look at him and he fell to his knees bowing to her. She wasn’t simply a child princess, he knew. She was the leader of the Seven Sages, the bearer of the triforce of wisdom, and the future queen of Hyrule. She stared at him for a minute before speaking.

“Who?! Who are you? How did you get past the guards?”

This time he had no fairy. She could not know he was from the forest and Navi wasn’t there to translate for him. He still had to warn her. He hoped he could manage without Navi.

In broken Hylian he said, “Ganondorf evil. Will destroy Hyrule.”

Zelda’s eyes widened. “You’re the boy from my dream! Then… then do you have the spiritual stone of the forest?”

Link began to shake his head, but there was a familiar feeling in his pocket. He had it again. His surprise turned to despair as he realized what that meant: the Great Deku Tree was still dead. Nonetheless, he had a job to do. He produced the stone and, as he did so, his triforce began to glow. Zelda’s eyes grew even wider.

“We have proof then! Come with me, we need to show my father!” Zelda began running, dragging Link behind her. He could feel Impa watching from the shadows, but she only looked on impassively.

Before Link could process what was happening he was in the throne room and Zelda was yelling.

“Father! Father! I have proof!” She pointed at Ganondorf, “That man is evil! He will destroy Hyrule.”

The room froze in shock and Ganondorf sputtered. Seeing him again made Link want to run, but he stood strong. He had a job to do. Zelda grabbed his wrist and he flinched away as he triforce began to glow. “You see,” she said, “He has the triforce of courage and he says that man will destroy Hyrule.” Her glare penetrated the shocked silence as she pointed to Ganondorf with her other hand.

It was the king who recovered first. “Zelda,” he said gently, “The triforce is certainly there, but what does it have to do with our honored Gerudo King.”

Zelda locked eyes with her father as she explained, for what was obviously not the first time, “He is evil. I saw him set fire to the castle in my vision and I knew it was only the first step in his plan to steal the triforce and conquer Hyrule.” She turned a torching glare in Ganondorf’s direction as she continued, “He can’t control the triforce though, so he will raze Hyrule to the ground instead.” Like a true politician she turned to the court with her arms spread and her palms up, “A boy in green was the first part of my vision. The fact that he’s here proves that King Ganondorf is evil. We must stop him before it is too late.”

The king stroked his beard. “That triforce on the boys hand certainly is convincing, and women in the royal family have always been known for their gifts of prophecy,” he looked at his daughter and Link swore he saw the king wink, “Still, it's not enough proof to arrest a foregin dignitary.”

Ganondorf eyes were wide as he sputtered. “Proof of what!?” he asked “What am I being accused of!?”

Zelda ignored him. “I have this too!” She pulled out the forest gem and waved it like it was a sword. “And that’s the boy from my vision!” She gestured at Link, “He came back in time to warn us!” 

For the first time the King looked at Link, “Is this true boy?”

Suddenly, every eye in the room was on Link. He wanted to run. He wanted the floor to swallow him. He wanted Navi. Instead, he squared his shoulders. He had a job to do. He began in broken sentences, trying to piece together Hylian words with their unfamiliar consonants and long, blended vowels. He stuttered and whispered his way through his tale starting with the Great Deku Tree’s curse and ending when Zelda used the ocarina to send him home. Sometimes Ganondorf protested, but two guards had stepped forward to hold him and he was mostly quiet. By the time he was done the King was nodding thoughtfully. 

“That is quite the tale,” he said, “but combined with my daughter’s visions, it must be true.”

“What!?” Ganondorf yelled. “Two children are telling you I will destroy the world and you believe them? There is no proof!”

Proof… Proof… Link knew that word. People asked for it when they wanted to hear Zelda’s lullaby. That was proof he was telling the truth. They were asking for proof, so he had to play that song. He no longer had Zelda’s Ocarina, but he still had Saria’s. That would work. He played and the notes hung in the air in like a man from a noose.”

“There is your proof!” the king said. “That is a song only known by the royal family! What he is saying must be true. No one but the hero of legend would be entrusted with such a sacred song!”

“He just came in with your daughter! She could have taught him.”

“She would have done no such thing! Not without my permission!”

Link lost track of the words flying over his head. They were coming faster and louder and he didn’t know half of them. Soon the entire room was shouting. The noise was deafening. He retreated to a corner with his hands over his ears. The light was too bright again. Finally, after what seemed like lifetimes, Ganondorf was dragged from the room all the while issuing orders to Gerudo warriors who had been stripped of their weapons. Then he was gone.

Link had done his job. 

He fainted.

* * *

 

Link woke thinking he was being smothered. He was surrounded by cloth, more that he had ever seen in one place. It tangled around him. There was too much. He struggled, but only managed to get one of his arms pinned behind his back.

“Calm down! You could hurt yourself!” a startled voice said beside him. He couldn’t understand it. There was too much else happening for him to translate the foreign words. The tone sounded surprised. Linked kept struggling. Surprises were rarely good.

Seconds later, a much calmer voice said, “You’ve startled him, Princess. Be careful with your tone.” Link became aware of two figures looking at him as the voice continued “Relax little hero, you are safe now. Your quest is finished. You are safe.” Link still couldn’t understand the words, but now he recognized the voices and the figures. Zelda and Impa were sitting next to his bed. While it was still more cloth than he would have ever thought necessary, he realized he was surrounded by pillows and sheets not monsters trying to smother him. It had been so long since he had slept in a bed. 

He let himself relax and was starting to drift off again when Zelda said, “You’ve been asleep for nearly two days. We were worried.” 

Link sat up at that. He was still having trouble with the Hylian language, but he understood “two days”. That was too long. Navi should have woken him up sooner. Where was Navi? 

“Navi?” he asked, as much calling for the fairy as asking Zelda and Impa if they knew. 

Zelda cocked her head to the side. “Who’s that?” she asked.

Link tried to speak in Hylian, but his words came out in the soft, whispering language of the Kokiri. He wished Navi was here to translate. He breathed in deeply. He needed to use words they could understand.

“Navi,” he whispered, “my fairy. Where?”

Impa looked concerned. “You had no fairy little one.”

Link was ready to panic. Navi should have been back by now. She couldn’t have just left him. Could she?

Zelda smiled. “I’m sure she’ll come back if she’s your fairy!” she said brightly, “I still don’t know your name. What is it?”

The abrupt subject change caught Link off guard. In took him a while, but the effort it took to process the words distracted him from his panic, “Link. Link my name.”

“Thank you Link,” said Zelda, “You have saved Hyrule from a terrible fate.” 

Impa stepped forward, “Come Princess,” she said, “We need to let Link rest, and the doctor wants to look at him.”

Shortly after Zelda and Impa’s departure, a plump, middle-aged women came into Link’s room. She chattered cheerfully as she examined Link. He liked her. He didn’t like her as much when she started asking questions. He didn’t know the answers to a lot of them. He didn’t know what a birthday was, though the Kokiri told him he was about 10. He had no parents, so he didn’t know their names. He didn’t know what a school was or how to read. He didn’t know where he got all his scars. There were too many to know about all of them. She didn’t seem to like a lot of his answers, though she tried to keep smiling. 

Finally, she was done. He couldn’t hear what she said to Impa, and even if he had he wouldn’t have understood it. They both looked worried. Link went back to sleep. 

There was a steady flow of people in and out of Link’s room over the next few days, though Impa tried to keep the number of visitors limited. The doctor came often. She had forbidden him from leaving his room by declaring that he needed time to recover from his ordeal away from prying eyes. Doing nothing made him restless. She also said he was dangerously underweight, which meant he got plenty of food. He liked that. Impa and Zelda came often as well. They mostly just visited with him. Sometimes Zelda would bring games to play and sometimes he would play his ocarina for her. Other visitors were a little more odd. There was a scholar who came frequently to ask questions about the Kokiri. Link answered them the best he could, but no matter what he said the scholar was enraptured. The king also came a few times. He thanked Link for his actions and called him a hero. 

“Ganondorf will not harm Hyrule,” he said. “He will be executed. I promise you that.”

Link didn’t really know what executed meant, but as long as Hyrule was safe he supposed it must be good.

Navi didn’t return.

* * *

 

A week from the day Ganondorf was seized, Link left Hyrule Castle. He told Zelda that morning. She told him not to, but he needed to find Navi. So, he left during the night, grabbing his sword and gear as he went.

The first thing he needed to do, Link decided, was get Epona. He could cover far more distance with a horse.

It took four days for Link to get Epona from Lon Lon Ranch. Talon didn’t want to give her to Link, so Link tried to prove himself. He did chores and cared for the horses without being told. He liked the horses and spent as much time with them as possible. They liked him as well and would frequently nozzle him or try to chew on his hat. 

Despite not wanting to give him Epona, Talon was kind to Link. He made sure he got enough food and offered to let him sleep in the house. Link preferred to sleep with the horses. Talon was also painfully careful around Link, always making sure not to startle him or push him into anything he didn’t want to do. He tried to talk Link into giving him his sword a few times, but Link refused. He needed his sword, and he didn’t trust Ingo. Sometimes, when Talon talked to Malon or Ingo, when he didn’t think Link could her him, he said Link was a feral child and needed help. Link was starting to grasp the difference between a child and an adult, but didn’t know what feral meant. He also didn’t think he needed help other than in the form of Epona.

Talon and Ingo were in town when Link was given Epona. Link was in the pasture with the horses simply sitting among them and playing his ocarina. As Link played Epona’s song, Malon approached him. 

“You know,” she said, “You get along so well with the horses, I’m a little jealous.” 

Link smiled and tried to tell her that she was the one with the knack. There was no way he could compare. Her song was what made the horses like him. He didn’t quite get the point across, but she still smiled. 

“I know Dad doesn’t want to give you Epona yet, but I know you have somewhere important to be and your so good with her.”

Link nodded. He liked where this was going. 

“I’m going to let you take Epona with you, but,” she said,” you have to promise to take care of her really well, and you have to promise to come back.” 

Link nodded again. Of course he would take care of Epona and he really wanted to come back to Lon Lon Ranch again. He just needed to find Navi first.

“Okay,” said Malon, “ You need to get going before Dad and Ingo come back.”

Later that afternoon, Link set off on bare Epona’s back with his gear and some extra rations in his seemingly bottomless pouch. He needed to find Navi. Southwest past Lake Hylia sounded like a good place to start.

* * *

 

Six days later, Link made his way back to Hyrule. His face was gaunt and his eyes were haunted. A death mask with white hair hung from his hip. Only six days had passed in Hyrule, but for him, three days had stretched into 3 months. He had eaten little and rarely slept during that time. Each cycle, he had gotten a little more desperate and, little by little, food had become less of a necessity and more of a luxury. It showed on his small body. He thought about going back to Lon Lon Ranch. He meant to go to Lon Lon Ranch. Instead he and Epona stood in front of the gates of Hyrule Castle. He walked through and, for once, the guards didn’t try to stop him. Things were so different now.

A guard took hold of Epona’s reigns and Link stiffened, ready to run or fight. However, the guard only said, “I’ll show you to the stables”, and led the way. Epona seemed happy in the royal pasture, so Link made his way into the castle proper by himself. 

Zelda met him in the entrance. She looked pissed, “You left.” 

Link nodded. He did leave. It was so long ago.

“Did you at least find her?”

Link shook his head. He wanted to cry. He might have cried if he weren’t so drained, if he hadn’t run out of tears in Termina.

Zelda huffed. “Well, at least you’re in time for the trial. The last of the dignitaries arrived this morning. We need to go see my father.”

Link didn’t want to go with Zelda. He wanted to go home. He went to follow anyway. Impa placed a hand on his shoulder, both to comfort him and to guide him.

The arrived in the king’s smaller reception room a short time later. The king was speaking to Durania. Link brightened until realized Durania didn’t know him in this timeline. Others were there as well. Dignitaries from other Hylian and Human nations talked with Zoras and Gorons. The Gerudo were conspicuously absent.

Link was intimidated by the crowd, but Zelda was as bold as ever. “Father!” she called, “Link’s back!”

The king looked a little exasperated, but mostly pleased. He walked out into the hall, drawing them to his sides as he did so. “You shouldn’t have run off like that Link,” he said, “You worried us.”

Link went to shrug, but decided it was better to nod. He knew the king meant well.

“Thankfully, you’re just in time.” The king smiled, winking at Link’s confusion.

“The Gerudo King’s trial is tomorrow. You’re testimony will assure a clear victory.” The king’s tone was bright, but he said Gerudo like a slur and King like it was a personal insult. Link knew he was missing something. 

“Now my boy, you look like you could use a bath and a good meal. Off with you!” He waved a servant over and handed Link off into her capable hands. That night, Link had an uninterrupted meal and a full night's sleep for the first time in three months.

* * *

 

The trial started at sunrise. The royal family and dignitaries were seated in a circle looking down at stone stage. It looked like a miniature colosseum with a stairway coming up from the dungeon.A raised wooden platform was in the middle of the stage. The Hylian Crest was carved onto the dais where Zelda and her father sat. Link was with them. 

Ganondorf was led up the stairs by two guards. His stay in the dungeon had done him no favors. His clothes were dirty and he had grown a ragged beard. The gem on his forehead was missing. Despite his haggard appearance, Ganondorf walked to the center of the stage with a straight back and raised head. Even in chains and covered in dirt, he looked every bit a king. To Link, he looked dangerous. 

To Link’s surprise it was Rauru that stepped onto the stage next. He continued until he was standing in the middle of the wooden platform “Honored witnesses,” the sage of light began, “today we try Ganondorf of the Gerudo, who stands accused of threatening peace in Hyrule and the safety of all its citizens,” he paused, “Who accuses this man?”

Zelda stood up and, to Link’s horror, dragged him up with her. “We do,” she said.

Rauru nodded and continued, “What evidence do you have?”

“A divine vision, testimony from the Hero of Time, the Triforce of Courage, and the flight of Ganondorf’s entourage.”

The answer was expected, scripted even, but a murmur still rippled through the crowd. Rauru nodded, “Present your first piece of evidence.”

In response Zelda walked down onto the stage and up onto the raised platform. She faced Ganondorf, looking him in the eye while she spun her tale. She told the spectators of the dream she had, of the visions bestowed upon her by the goddesses. She told them of how her vision of meeting Link had already come true and how she was the descendant of the ancient goddess Hylia. The king and Rauru confirmed this. 

Next Link was called to the stand and asked to tell his tale. He looked at the crowd and at Ganondorf in front of him. For a few minutes he just stood trying to translate his jumbled thoughts into passable Hylian. He looked at Rauru who nodded encouragingly. He looked at Ganondorf, still dangerous after almost three weeks in the dungeons. His job wasn’t done yet. He squared his shoulders and started to speak. 

His Hylian was clearer and more confident this time, but his words were still jumbled. He would never get all of the Hylian vowels right. He stumbled his way through his testimony, mixing tenses and misplacing words. Not once was he stopped. No one asked him to clarify or repeat himself. He was grateful for that. Finally he was done. He sighed with relief even as Ganondorf looked at him with a burning hatred. Those eyes scared him.They blamed him for this and they would not forgive.

“Thank you Link,” Rauru said. “There is one more piece of evidence we need from you. Link, my boy, could you show us your triforce?”

Link nodded and the air stretched thin as the crowd waited with baited breath. Link raised his left hand and thought of courage. His triforce glowed. There was a collective gasp. They had heard about it, but never seen it. Many had not believed it. This boy truly was the hero of time. 

“Thank you Link, that is all we needed,” Rauru said. Link recognized the dismissal and made his way back to his seat beside Zelda. 

Rauru turned back to the crowd. “Our final piece of evidence is that Ganondorf’s entourage fled the day he was apprehended. ‘Why would innocents flee?’ we have to ask. They clearly knew he was guilty and were likely in league.” Ganondorf fumed. He looked like he was physically holding himself back. Link tensed. The guards didn’t look like they would be ready if he made a move.

Rauru continued, “We have heard the evidence from the accusers. Does the accused have anything to say?” 

“This is ridiculous,” growled Ganondorf, “Even if what the boy says is true, I haven’t done any of that yet, I may never do it.” He sneered, “You hold a trial for future crimes. Of course my sisters fled. Who would stay in a place where a person can put on trial for what they might do?”

Rauru nodded solemnly, “You have no evidence then, only words. The case is clear. The court finds you guilty and dangerous. Do the witnesses hold any objections.”

The crowd was silent. Ganondorf was as well.   


The king stood and pulled himself up to his full height. “The crown bears witness. Ganondorf of the Gerudo, you have been found guilty of the crime of threatening the peace of Hyrule and the safety of her citizens. I, King Aiolos Straton Hyrule, ” he paused and looked down his nose at Ganon, “uphold this verdict. You will be executed in three days time when the sun reaches its peak.”

The king spun on his heel and began to walk away. For the first time that day, Ganondorf’s calm broke. “You fool!” he shouted, “There will be war!” The Hylian king kept walking. Zelda followed, looking smug. Link looked back for a second. He still didn’t know what executed meant. What could it be to inspire that kind of a reaction? Whatever it was, the Deku Tree would get his justice.

* * *

 

That night there was a feast. They were celebrating the continued peace of Hyrule and the disaster he and Zelda had averted. They were the guests of honor, sitting at the high table with the king. Link had been forced out of his Kokiri garb and into a stuffy suit. It was still green, for which he was grateful, but he couldn’t move the way he wanted. He was allowed his sword after much arguing, but with his restrictive outfit and his position in the middle of the crowd he couldn’t have hoped to use it in the case of an attack.

There was not just a steady stream, but a raging river of people coming to talk to him. He couldn’t keep track of their names or faces or the words they said. He tried to copy Zelda who took it with grace and actually seemed to be enjoying herself, but he just could not keep the words straight. His garbled responses were only met with confusion, so he stuck to smiling and nodding at the praise. In the Kokiri Village showing one’s teeth was often seen as a threat or a show of dominance. Here people seemed to like it. They were not threatened and responded in kind. It scared him. 

Eventually, Link was allowed to sit and eat. He was seated to the right of the king and Zelda was seated to his left. It mimicked the places of courage and wisdom on the triforce. Based on their positions, the king seemed to be claiming power. Link didn’t like that, power was dangerous. It was Ganondorf’s triforce. He said nothing and set about eating the decadent meal that was placed in front of him.

It was the king who congratulated him next. “You were brave today, my boy!” he said, “You’re testimony helped vanquish a great evil. With the execution of their king, we will be able to drive the Gerudo back. They will not threaten Hyrule again.”

Link frowned and said, “No, Gerudo is good. Only Ganondorf is evil. In the tomorrow, Gerudo help.”

The king blinked. “Surely, the Gerudo attacked with him. They kidnapped those carpenters and imprisoned you after all. I thought it was only the sage helped.”

“No, attacked with monsters.” he said. “Gerudo good. Carpenters stupid. Proved myself. Let me in and trained with me.”

The king looked disturbed. “That is… not what I expected. I will consult with my generals.” The king’s face brightened. “No more talk of that. Tonight we celebrate!” With that the king stood and the rest of the room stood with him until he gestured that they could sit down.

“Tonight we celebrate,” he repeated, this time to the entire room. His voice reached all the way to the end of the long hall, but it did not sound like he was yelling. Link wondered if he used magic to do that. The king spoke again, “We have prevented a great calamity from overtaking this land and finally have been able to prove what we already suspected: the Gerudo’s so-called king is evil.” He paused with a twinkle in his eye, “Soon it will be that he was evil.” The room chuckled and Link shivered at the malice it contained. There shouldn’t be malice in a laugh. “In three days time he will be executed and there will no possible way for him to carry out his dastardly plans.” Suddenly Link found himself standing next to the king. “It is all thanks to the wisdom and courage of these children that we are safe. It is them who have saved Hyrule. We have stopped the king of evil before he did any damage at all.  May the Golden Goddesses guide us all!”

“May the Golden Goddesses guide us all!” the room echoed back. Link’s head spun with the sheer volume of it. 

As they sat down Link frowned. He turned to the jovial king and said “Ganondorf already does damage.” 

The king paused. He already had a leg of chicken halfway to his mouth. “Do you mean some of what you said has already come to pass?”

Link nodded. “He kills the Great Deku Tree.”

“Someone needs to teach this kid how to talk,” the king muttered under his breath. “Link,” he asked more gently, “Do you mean that he  _ killed _ this tree? He’s not going to kill it, he already killed it?”

Link’s eyes darkened as he nodded. “Happened before met Zelda. The Great Deku Tree is dead.” 

“Well,” said the king, “I wish we had known this before the trial. It would have made our case completely airtight!” The king laughed. “It doesn’t matter. In three days the thief will be executed and we can all move on.”

Link’s brow furrowed. Ganondorf had to be stopped, that was a fact, but the Hylians hadn’t known he was guilty yet. How was he sentenced for something he hadn’t done. That was when Link made a decision. It was the Great Deku Tree who had died. The Kokiri had a right to try him as well. Link made a decision. “He needs trial for kills Great Deku Tree too.”

The king starred. “Link, he’s going to be executed in three days and he has already had a trial. He cannot have another one.”

“Kokiri will try him. Breaks the laws of forest. Will answer to forest.” Link paused thinking. “Can happen after execution. Kokiri will have justice.”

The king smiled and chuckled softly. “Link, he will be dead after his execution. That’s what execution is: a death sentence.”

Link wanted to be surprised. He wanted to say he had no idea, to say that he thought they were only imprisoning him, but he did have an idea. They wanted Ganondorf gone. Death was a very effective solution. But, Link realized, it wasn’t right. A few weeks ago, or perhaps it had been three months, he wouldn’t have minded. He would have nodded and believed that that would be justice. He would have agreed that killing the man was right. Even if they had not known the difference between what he had done and would do, he would have agreed that it would have been justice all the same. 

It was different now. He had seen death. He had seen Micau wash up on the shore again and again. He had seen the hole Darmani had left in the lives of his people. He had seen the grief of the deku butler over his dead son. He had seen death and he knew that it not a punishment to be based off of what might happen. This wasn’t justice. But… but Ganondorf had killed the deku tree. The Hylians hadn’t known, but perhaps it was justice enough. Perhaps. Link looked at the decadent food on his plate, the food made to celebrate a man’s death. He made up his mind. He would talk to Ganondorf. He would be the Kokiri trial. The Great Deku Tree would get justice. 

* * *

That night, after the feasting was done and the castle was dragging itself to bed, Link snuck through the secret passages of the castle, fierce deity mask strapped to his hip, just in case. The doctor had tried to confine him to bed this time. She was at a loss at how he had lost so much weight in so little time. Link felt bad for leaving when she was so worried, but he needed to do this. He had a job to do.

The castle was filled with passages that twisted and turned. There were unexpected stairways, strange rooms with no clear purpose, and odd shadows on the wall created by seemingly nothing. Somehow Link always knew where he was… mostly. It was a surprise when found himself looking through a grate in the lower corner of Ganondorf’s cell. Though he was forced to sit on the floor, his arms were chained above him. His wrists were rubbed raw and his head hung low. He didn’t look confident like this. He still looked dangerous. 

Link was mulling over how to address this terrifying man when he spoke. “What do you want boy?”

Link didn’t answer.

“Have you come to gloat, little murderer?”

“What is murderer?”

For the first time Ganondorf opened his eyes and looked at Link. Link didn’t know what he saw, but his eyes narrowed. “A murderer is a person who kills another person,” he paused, seeming to reconsider, before continuing, “or causes another person’s death.”

Link narrowed his own eyes in response. “You murder Great Deku Tree. This is justice.”

Ganondorf laid his head against the stone behind him. “Murdered or will murder? Have I already done it, or is this something else I might do?”

Link’s eyes narrowed further. “Great Deku Tree is dead. I have the stone. You do this.”

Ganondorf sighed before he said “So the great fool is dead… You need to learn the difference between past, present, and future, kid.” 

Link was angry and confused. There wasn’t any malice in that statement. He wasn’t making accusations or trying to defend himself. He accepted it, but it was like he didn’t know already. Ganondorf wasn’t doing it right. This wasn’t the kind of trial Link wanted. Link glared from behind the bars of the grate. “Great Deku Tree is dead. Your fault. Need to die.”

“Kid, I’m already going to die. You and your weird ass story and your glowing hand made sure of that.” He laughed. “Ironic isn’t it? My whole goal was to get the triforce and now I’m going to die because some kid got a piece of it. I can’t get it and I’m going to die.” His expression suddenly darkened and his eyes sharpened. Link took a step back in his little tunnel. “There’s going to be war because of this.”

“War?” Link asked edging his way closer to the grate again. A hand was on his mask.

“Right, I guess that’s another word you don’t know.” He muttered something under his breath about children and fools. “Hyrule and the Gerudo are going to fight. Most of the people who fight will die. People who don’t fight will die. My people will be exterminated and it will be your fault you little brat.”

The words hurt, but Link squared his shoulders and said “Not my fault. You kill Great Deku Tree. Deserve to die. You will kill others. Cannot let that happen. You are evil”

“What right do you have to judge me boy?” the Gerudo King roared. “You know nothing! You doomed my people to extinction when you gave that fool of a king a reason to kill me! You chose to have me killed because you were too stupid and to scared to think for yourself, you stupid brat!” 

Link ran as Ganondorf continued to yell. He distantly heard the guards shouting, but he kept running. How could this happen. Ganondorf killed the Great Deku Tree. He deserved to die. Link panted as he found himself back in his room. He shook like a leaf.

Ganondorf deserved… Link didn’t know what Ganondorf deserved. He hadn’t seemed to know the Great Deku tree was dead. He was worried for the Gerudo people. Ganondorf said that there would be war because of this. It was too complicated for Link. He couldn’t judge the man himself and the trial before wasn’t fair. 

Link looked down at his Kokiri clothes. He made a decision. Link had a job to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. 
> 
> The Hylian court system works something like this: The whole this is supposed to emulate the will of the goddesses, so a priest acts as the judge, prosecutor, and defender. Usually another priest will deliver the sentence as well as the verdict, but the king acts as in the name of the gods in this instance. The witnesses are the crowd and are supposed to act as the will of the people. They do not act as a jury, but they can raise objections. However, the the priests choose the witnesses and there is no system in place to prevent repercussions. The accuser will present evidence against the accused. This includes testaments, which are the people referred as witnesses in the American court system. The accused is also offered a chance to offer evidence. Because of the consolidation of power, this system doesn't work very well and tends to be very biased, especially in high stakes cases where the king is involved. The only reason the king talks about an air-tight case is because in this instance there are foreign dignitaries, who can be punished, in the crowd who could potentially raise objections, especially if they see the accusations as racist. After all if Hyrule goes after the Gerudo, what to stop it from going after them? Link's testimony and triforce are meant to soothe this tension, though the King would have gone ahead with the trial regardless. 
> 
> Please tell me what you liked and didn't like. I'm always open to suggestions. If anything doesn't make sense I'm happy to clarify it in the comments or change the story to fix it.


	2. Thoughts in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, apparently, cannot confine this to two or even three chapters. I mean I could have made this a lot longer, but I didn't really want to take another week and half to post a 10,000 word chapter instead of posting a 3500 word chapter now.

The night after their first conversation, Link found himself outside of Ganondorf’s cell. He was in front of the cell door this time, not hidden in a grate. There was a key in his hand. 

The man six feet in front of him was asleep. His wrists were still chained above him in a position that made it impossible to do more than sit. The whole setup was probably designed to make him understand the futility of his situation, to make him feel powerless. Link knew better. In chains or free, kneeling before a king or standing with a crown on his head, this man was dangerous. 

Clenching the key in his hands, Link kicked the door. A dull ring echoed through the damp corridor and Ganondorf started wake. He looked confused for a moment before his eyes settled on Link. Link didn’t know what Ganondorf saw, but it made the man narrow his eyes and straighten his back.

“What do you want, boy?” he spat.

Link didn’t respond. He just held up the key and started to open the door. 

Ganondorf’s eyebrows jumped, then he laughed. It was harsh, derisive laugh and it made Link want to shudder, but he couldn’t shudder. He couldn’t show weakness. “You would free me after a single conversation?” Ganondorf’s lips twisted, “Are you really that simple?”

Link shook his head. “Hyrule not know Great Deku Tree already dead. Tries for what will happen, not what happens. Not justice.”

“Happened boy, not happens.” He started to roll his shoulder, but the chains held him back. He muttered a curse before continuing, “Am I free to go then?” he sneered, “Are you going to let the King of Evil free?” he looked at the sword on Link’s hip, “Or are you just going to kill me yourself?”

Suddenly Link’s sword was pointing directly between Ganondorf’s eyes. The man stared and opened his mouth, gaping like a fish. “Won’t kill, Kokiri trial. We will go to the Lost Woods.”

Ganondorf crossed his eyes to look at the tip of the sword, “I see.”  


The man ducked as the sword drew away and swung directly over his head. Sparks flew as it hit the chains, severing them cleanly and leaving the cuffs around his wrists. Link waited for him to get up before putting the sword to the bottom of his spine. “We go now. Guards will wake up soon.”

Ganondorf blinked then shook his head and said, “Give me a minute kid, I’ve been chained like that for two days.”

Link shifted impatiently while he waited for Ganondorf to start walking, his sword was pointed at the bigger man’s back. 

Finally, they left. Link guided them to the end of the dungeon and down a manhole in a drain pipe. It was slow going. Ganondorf had to crouch the whole way and Link was waist deep in water. By the time the tunnel let them out into Hyrule field the sky was already bathed in predawn gray.   


Link held up his sword as the older man stretched. They needed to leave. The guards were either already knew they were missing or would find out soon. Link wanted to be as far away as possible before the search parties went out. 

He shifted his weight as Ganondorf turned to face him. He didn’t like that look.

“Well kid, thanks for that,” the Gerudo king said, “You made getting out of there a whole lot easier.” He smirked, “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to accompany you to that trial of yours. I have business to attend to.”

Link was prepared when the ball of lightning flew towards him and deflected it neatly back into Ganondorf’s face. As the older man stumbled, Link hooked one of his feet, causing him to topple over and hit the ground hard. By the time Ganondorf recovered enough to know up from down, Link had one foot on his chest and a sword at his throat. With his other hand, he fingered the mask on his hip.

“You will come to Kokiri trial, but if you attack again or try escape I will kill you,” Link let his sword nick the Gerudo’s neck to emphasize his point.

“Wouldn’t that interfere with the justice you want so badly?” Ganondorf snarled. He hands, still cuffed together, clenched and unclenched. 

Link shrugged, “Self defence good enough.”

They stared at each other for a few tense seconds. Finally, Link sheathed his sword and rolled his shoulders. “We need go. Guards know we is gone.”

“Fine.”

* * *

 

Ten hours later, Ganondorf sat down on a rock. He had had enough. They had been walking without breaks or food and Link had insisted on fording every pond, stream, and river they came across. Behind him, the boy in question started to draw his sword.

“Look, kid,” he started, staring nervously at the sword “We started before dawn and it's after mid day. You might have the stamina of a draft horse, but I need to stop."

Link frowned."Soldiers have horses and dogs. Need to hurry."

"We've walked through every damn pond, stream, and river we've come across and we’ve got at least a two hour head start on them. We can afford to sit down for fifteen minutes and have lunch.”

Link glared for a few seconds before he sat down near Ganondorf with his sword on his lap. He didn't take his eyes off the older man as he reached into the pack on his belt and took out two small cloth bundles.He hesitated before handing one of them to Ganondorf and he started to unwrap his own. Ganondorf grunted what could have been thanks or a curse and unwrapped his as well. He nearly dropped his bundle in sunprie.

"What the hell is this kid?" he asked.

"Lunch.”

"This is a bag of nuts, berries, and wilted leaves, not lunch."

“Eat lunch midday, little after midday. This is lunch.”

“This is famine food.”

“Famine food?”

Ganondorf sighed, he needed to start getting the kid to let his guard down, not argue over food. “Famine food is what you eat the crops fail or there’s a hard wind season. We were just at a castle. Couldn’t you have grabbed a couple of meat pies or something?”

Link frowned. “Meat rots in sun. This is plenty.” He popped a small nut into his mouth.

Ganondorf looked at the kid’s scrawny frame. While he wasn’t skin and bones, he was far more wiry than he should of been at his age, whatever that was His daughters sometimes looked like that after a bad wind season. They got very little to eat, but would work hard all the same. The result was hard muscles on a child’s thin frame. 

The big man looked at the bag in his hands. Because of the chains, he had to bring both his hands to his face to eat it. He had finished all of it by the time they set off fifteen minutes later. Link’s was still half full.

* * *

Ganondorf was beyond tired when they finally made camp. He had actually begun to wonder if the boy meant to walk through the night. He could only feel relief when he directed them off the road into a small clearing. The boy gestured for Ganondorf to sit down before he started rummaging through his bag. Eventually he pulled out two blankets and what looked like an arrow. Its tip was painted gold. 

“I will hunt,” he said. “You stay here. Put the chains near the tree.”

Ganondorf gawked. “You really think an arrow through my shackles is going to stop me if I want to escape?” He cursed himself, if the kid really did think that he might have ruined his chance.

“Not regular arrow,” Link got his sword out, “Put chains near tree.”

Ganondorf sighed and sat down. He needed to keep the kid happy. It was awkward getting into a position where he was both comfortable and had his wrists close enough to the tree. When he finally got situated, Link drove the arrow into the tree trunk. Ganondorf’s eyes widened as the arrow embedded itself a good five inches deep. Link shot him a warning glare as he stalked into the small forest. 

Ganondorf shook his head as he watched the kid go. No matter how deep the arrow was or what kind of spell it had, it was no match for him. He gripped it and tried pulling, seeing if it might just be that simple. He let go quickly as the arrow burned him. There were black marks spreading from he had touched it. That wasn’t going to work. He switched strategies trying to break with his chains. The arrow didn’t budge. An easy fire spell only burned his fingers.

The hairs started to prickle on the back of his neck as he tried to a ragged edge on one of the chain links as a makeshift file. He slowly turned around. The kid was sitting there not three feet away from him. He was just… sitting there. They stared at each other for a few strange minutes before Ganondorf’s attention finally drifted to the two dead squirrels in the boys hands. 

“We don’t have a fire, kid.”

Link’s eyes darkened. “No fire. Can find us with fire. Here.” With that he slit open one of the squirrel’s stomachs and handed it to Ganondorf. Ganondorf was about to ask what he was supposed to do with a raw squirrel when he saw Link driving his hands into his own squirrel and prying open its ribcage. Even in the dark, Ganondorf could see how thrilled the boy was with his meal as he shoved the tiny organs into his mouth. 

Ganondorf looked down at the squirrel in his own hands. It was still warm. As he steeled himself to eat what would probably be the last meat he had for at least another couple of days, he wondered what could drive a Hylian child to be thrilled at the prospect of eating raw squirrel and think nuts and berries were plenty. The thought stayed with him as he dozed, waiting for Link to fall asleep.

Ganondorf let himself doze until the moon had moved almost halfway across the sky. He glanced quickly toward Link looking for movement. He was sure the kid was asleep by now. He had to be. Slowly he started to move, going back to using the chain as a makeshift file. That had seemed to be working. He looked back again, making sure that he was the only one awake.

He wasn’t. As he turned to face the clearing he met pure white eyes brimming with barely contained rage. The man, if it was a man, had white hair and war paint on his face. He was dressed in full armor and the hylical sword on his back matched the man in height. Ganondorf held very, very still. 

He calmed his breathing. This had to be a dream or a hallucination. While not completely awake, he would have noticed a person enter the clearing. The boy had magic. He must have summoned the vision of this warrior to frighten him, to make it seem like he was being guarded. He looked down at the boy wrapped halfway in a blanket. The image did seem to be emanating from the mask on his hip. Ganondorf relaxed. The boy was truly naive if he expected Ganondorf to be cowed by the mere image of a warrior. He began to work at the arrow again. At least, until the image spoke. 

“Oh, I’m very real, I assure you,” it said.

Ganondorf ignored it. It was a powerful projection, but still just a projection.

The image laughed, “No, not just a projection,” it paused, “though it is true I am not completely corporeal in this form.”

Ganondorf paused this time. It had to be a truly powerful spell to be able to that observant. Perhaps the mask wasn’t just a focus for the boy, but enchanted by itself. The weapons the boy had were far too powerful. Ganondorf would have to relieve him of them once he was free. 

The image’s face contorted into a savage snarl. “You will do no such thing!”it roared and then, in an instant, its face smoothed back into a calm frown, “and I prefer cursed, not enchanted.”

Telepathy. It was the only explanation. That was a powerful magic, far more powerful than a boy, even a very strong, skilled boy, should be able to control. A shiver ran down Ganondorf’s spine. He wondered if Link controlled it at all.

The spirit, for it was a spirit, smiled sadly looking softly at the child, “No, he does not control me. He doesn’t even know to try. He freed me without a thought, not caring how dangerous I might be,” the spirit turned a steely gaze toward Ganondorf, “That is why I protect him. You will not harm him again.” The spirits eyes glowed, and Ganondorf could sense the immense power radiating from it. 

Ganondorf gawked. The kid had a minor god acting as his personal guardian. What was he supposed to say to that? “Alright, I won’t hurt him, now I’d really like to be on my way”?

The spirit sneered. “You will not be leaving. He wants you to get a trial, therefore I will let you have a trial, but,” and suddenly the spirit was inches from Ganondorf’s face, “if it were up to me, you would have been dead the minute I saw you.”

Ganondorf nodded numbly. What else could he do? He was staked to a tree with a cursed arrow and, even if he wasn’t, it would be suicidal to be to challenge this spirit in his current state.

“You get it,” The spirit’s lips curled into a cruel smile, “I’d get some rest if I were you. You have a very long day tomorrow.” 

Then there was silence. The conversation was over and the spirit simply stared at him, unmoving. Ganondorf curled back against his tree. The spirit was right, but sleep would take a miracle at this point… or at least take a hard blow to the head.

* * *

They set out as the sun started to peak over the horizon. Ganondorf had gotten very little sleep. Apparently, Link hadn’t planned on getting any. The boy was in a sour mood because of it. They left without breakfast and Link had the sword pointed to Ganondorf’s back for most of the morning.

They walked through lunch that day, despite Ganondorf’s protestations. 

“Look kid, a fifteen minute break won’t matter.”

Link simply glared and said, “Lose too much time. We need to get there before night.” 

Ganondorf was about to argue, or at least ask why, but the kid looked like he really, really wanted to use that sword, so he just kept walking.

The reached the lost woods just before the sun started to set. Ganondorf was tired, aching, and hungry. He was too old for this. Link, on the other hand, looked as if the long trek and lack of food hadn’t affected him at all. It might not have. 

Ganondorf suppressed a shudder. He hated the lost woods. When he’d been here before he’d simply teleported to the Great Deku Tree. He couldn’t do that now and the kid was nudging him forward. He squared his shoulders and walked through the log. 

The wind howled as they walked and the leaves seemed to whisper as they passed. Eerie not-quite music seemed to come from all directions. Every few turns he felt like he was back at the beginning, but Link was still unwavering behind him and they were getting deeper. His head started to ache. 

Link, on the other hand, looked more relaxed than Ganondorf had ever seen him. While his guard wasn’t down, he looked far more confident. There was even a spring in his step. He looked young.

As they got deeper Ganondorf could occasionally glimpse beady black eyes staring out from the greenery. They were never there when he turned to look directly at them. Tiny feet would scuttle past with the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves. Once he even saw a skull kid staring down from the branch of a tall tree. It made Ganondorf’s skin crawl. Link had looked up and greeted it with a wave. It made some noises that sounded like rattling sticks and disappeared. 

They got even deeper and the black eyes stopped disappearing when he looked at them. Words that sounded like trees rattling and bits of bird song would float out to them. Link would respond in kind, sometimes friendly, sometimes agitated. They kept walking.

Eventually, they emerged into a sort of clearing. After the darkness of the woods, Ganondorf’s eyes smarted. The clearing was full of short, stubby trees. Some had vines and bits of wood attaching them. There was a stream burbling through the center. As his eyes adjusted, Ganondorf started to see doors and windows in the trees. The wood was purposefully placed. The stream was carefully routed. They were standing in the entrance to a child-sized village. 

The voices he had heard in the woods multiplied in intensity and volume. They surrounded him. Link was replying rapidly in his strange language. His brows were furrowed and he was gesturing rapidly, frequently pointing at Ganondorf. 

Finally a small child stepped out. Her eyes were pure black and her hair was green. She smiled at Link. It was not a happy smile. Her teeth had savage looking points. Ganondorf had no doubt a bite from this little girl would not only pierce flesh, but sever tendons and break bones. 

Link looked down and muttered something to the ground. The girl in front of him crossed her arms and he didn’t need a translator to understand she meant, “Repeat that a little louder for me.” Link still looked at the ground and shuffled his feet, but still repeated himself in a much clearer voice. A murmur ran through the forest until the green-haired girl held up a hand. There was silence.   


The girl turned to Ganondorf, “Link accuses you of killing the Great Deku Tree. This is a great crime and warrants an immediate trial,” her smile widened as her eyes darkened and Ganondorf got the distinct impression that a smile had a very different meaning here, “Link also tells me that you were tried in Hyrule for crimes you have not yet committed and insists that both the Hylians and your own people should bear witness.” She stepped toward him and he had to restrain himself from taking a step back, “By our laws, we must honor the accusers wish for witnesses. Therefore, your trial shall be delayed until all involved are assembled. Until then, you will remain our guest.”

Ganondorf found himself being escorted by into the lost woods by two smiling blond children he hadn’t seen approach, as the green-haired girl continued to talk to Link. He jerked wildly and, with great surprise, realized he was afraid.

Link looked at his shoes as Ganondorf was escorted away. He wanted justice. He wanted a Kokiri trial. That was good, but he had gone to the Hylians first. That wasn’t good.

As Ganondorf vanished from sight, Saria stopped showing her teeth. She didn’t look quite as scary now.

“Are you mad at me?” Link asked, shuffling his feet and twisting his tunic.

Saria gave him a look before she pinched the bridge the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I’m not mad,” she said, “but you went to the Hylians first, and now you want to bring them  _ and _ the Gerudo into the forest. Why would you do that? They’re grown-ups! Grown-ups are dangerous!”

“He’s the king of the Gerudo. They should know what happens to their ruler. And the Hylians already tried him, but it was for something that he hasn’t done yet,” he locked his eyes on a leaf near Saria’s shoes and shuffled his feet some more, “they should see how real justice looks.”

Saria’s face softened a little. “I can understand that,” she said, “but why would you go to the Hylians first? The Great Deku Tree is dead! That’s a Kokiri matter.” Saria sighed, “Even if you really are Hylian, I always thought you were a forest child first.”

Link’s eyes widened. Of course he was a forest child. He had to explain. “I wasn’t thinking like that,” he said panicking , “Hyrule and the Zoras and the Gorons and the Gerudo were all in danger and when Zelda sent me back she said to find her and Navi was gone and,” he hiccuped a little as he tried to get enough air to continue, “and then I couldn’t speak well when I told them what was going to happen, but I had to find Navi so I left and there was this evil mask and I was stuck there for three months, but it was really only three days over and over again and,” Link was almost sobbing now, it was just so much, “and then they said there was a trial and I was just in time, so I told them my story again and… and…” Link was starting to sob, “I thought they knew about the Great Deku Tree, but they didn’t and they were going to kill him even though he hadn’t done anything to them yet and then I had to…” Link was outright blubbering as Saria took him in her arms. 

“Shh…” she said, “You’re safe. It’s okay now.” She looked at him with soft, sad eyes, “you’ve been through so much.”

Link continued to sob, hugging her tightly. “I killed him Saria,” he sobbed softly, “I killed a man and I’m so scared I’ll have to do it again.”

“Shh… Let’s get you inside,” she paused like she was deciding if it was smart to continue, “and when you calm down, I want to hear the whole story.”

Link nodded. They walked to his house. His house. He looked at it as the tears ran down his face. It was the first time he had been home in at least nine months, if he counted all of the time travel. He sat on his bed with Saria next to him. He was home. They sat there until Link stopped crying. Then he told her his story, all of it. For the first time since Navi, someone understood. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see I have a bit of a different take on the Kokiri and the Fierce Deity Mask. The Kokiri here are quite a bit more Fae-like than they were in Ocarina of Time. They are also carnivorous and hate fire since they are wood spirits. Therefore, they, and Link, eat raw meat. Link also eats nuts, herbs, and berries, but some of the Kokiri make fun of him for eating like a skullkid when he does this. The beaks skullkids have look like they are meant for cracking nuts, not tearing meat.
> 
> I see the fierce deity as being fierce in a very protective way, at least towards Link. He's still a terrifying, often vengeful spirit, but he cares for the child-warrior that freed him.
> 
> Lastly, I see Link as a lawful good character. However, he abides by Kokiri law, which, as we will see in the next chapter, is quite a bit different. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is encouraged.


	3. A Gathering of Witnesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so sorry for the unexpected three-month hiatus! I'm super glad that I made a really detailed outline of what I was planning. That made things so much easier. Last term was harder than expected, but I now only have one more term until graduation so yay! Also, I now have a 9-5 job starting Monday, so I should be a whole lot less erratic.
> 
> One more note: I have gone back and edited the first and second chapters. They now have fewer typos and (hopefully) more clarity.

The next day there was a meeting among the Kokiri. There was a lot of anger and a lot of yelling. Most of it was directed at Link. Most of the forest children could understand why the Gerudo should be there, or at least once Link explained that he was their king… and what a king was.

“A king is like a protector or leader for an area and the people there. Kinda like a really, really small version of the Great Deku Tree, but not connected. They make rules and judge people,” he tried to explain to the dozens of beady black eyes staring at him.

Mido stomped his foot and crossed his arms. “That man is nothing like the Great Deku Tree! The Great Deku Tree is wise and kind and looks after the entire forest. That man is just a big jerk!”    

Link raised a hand and tried to correct himself, “He isn’t like the Great Deku Tree in that way, but his people, the Gerudo, they follow him like forest children follow the Great Deku Tree.”

“So, they are all evil then. Why should we let them into the forest? They will do bad things,” a Kokiri girl said, smiling wolfishly.

Link shook his head, “No, they aren’t connected to him, they don’t have fairies or anything else to connect to him. They’re more like skullkids. They aren’t part of the desert like you’re part of the forest. The Gerudo they’re… ” he looked down at his feet and squeezed his eyes shut, “they’re more like me.”

The Kokiri rustled around him, not quite speaking, but arguing all the same. Some believed that if the Gerudo were like Link, then they couldn’t be completely evil, and Ganondorf was their protector, so they should be allowed to see his justice. Other believed that if they had chosen him, they had to be evil, even if they weren’t directly connected. Eventually, the rustling died down and Saria spoke up. 

“I am the leader until the Deku Sprout emerges,” she said. Her voice voice was soft, but her eyes were hard,  “I cannot connect in the same way the Great Deku Tree did and the forest children don’t know my will in the same way. Is Ganondorf like that?”

Link began to nod, then shook his head, “He’s even less. He can’t feel his people or even his land. He’s just a mortal, but the Gerudo, and other mortal races, need leaders, so they just pick one. It’s really weird.”

The Kokiri rustled again and Saria nodded. “The Gerudo can come,” she said, “but only a few.” Linked nodded. That was fine, there didn’t need to be a lot of people, just enough to know what happened, and to know it was a real trial not just a show. 

“What about the Hylians?”

Saria sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Link winced. That wasn’t a good sign.

“You said they already had a trial for crimes he hasn’t committed?”

Link nodded, scowling.

“Fine, a small group of Hylians can come,” she smiled with all her teeth showing, “they will see what real justice is.” The Kokiri rustled and Link tried to figure out how he was going to get all these people into the forest without getting killed.

* * *

Link decided he would go to Hyrule first. They already knew him. It would be easier…  at least in theory. He was still trying to work out how to explain what he had done. Zelda would be really mad. So would the king. He wasn’t looking forward to the encounter. 

Link warped to the temple of time. He was glad he was still able to do that, even if he didn’t think he could do it with anybody else. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, he warped in the middle of a service. 

Time seemed to stop. Link stared at the crowd of worshippers and they stared back at him. He briefly considered warping back to the forest temple and hiding for the rest of his existence. Instead, he just stood there and the crowd just stood there, and Rauru, who was leading the congregation, just stood there too. 

Link was so overwhelmed by the sea of staring faces that he hadn’t noticed Zelda or the king in the front row. It was Zelda who moved first.

“Link!” she said rushing to hug him, “I’m so glad you’re here. You managed to escape! Were you able to kill the demon king?”

Link stared at her. Escape? Kill the demon king? His eyes slowly widened as he realized what she must have thought happened. Of course she would assume that Ganondorf had escaped and kidnapped him as well. Ganondorf was evil. Link was good. From her perspective, it was the only logical conclusion.

Link swallowed. He didn’t want to explain. He looked at the crowd, especially not in front of all these people. He breathed. He had a job to do. Justice would be done and it would be done right. 

“Not escaped. Not kidnapped,” he said, trying to formulate exactly how he was going to explain this without getting himself locked away, or worse. He hadn’t thought this through. 

“What do you mean? What happened?” Zelda sounded perplexed and Link just stood there open-mouthed. What could he say?

The king stood up, having recovered from his shock, “Yes boy, what did happen?” While Zelda sounded confused, the king sounded suspicious. Link got the distinct impression that he might have to get away very quickly. He stuck his hand in his pouch, trying to look as innocent as possible while he rummaged through it. He still had the stone mask. He could disappear if he needed to, but, first, he had a job to do. 

“Kokiri justice,” he said squaring his shoulders, “Took Ganondorf to Lost Woods. You tried for things not happened. We try for Deku Tree. Already happens.”

The king narrowed his eyes, “Boy…” he turned to face Rauru, who still seemed frozen to the spot next to Link, “Seize him.” Before the startled priest could act, Link pulled out his stone mask and slipped it on. The audience gasped and Link winced. He would have much rather done this privately. 

He slipped past Zelda and Rauru to stand on the other side of the altar. He didn’t like the position, it was too open, but it was better than standing next to anyone who could grab him. 

He slipped off the mask and said, “Some Hylians come to trial. See verdict, understand justice,” the king was turning red and Link shoved his mask back on and started to edge his way towards the door. They might not be able to see him, but they could still hear him if they listened hard enough.

Link started when Impa spoke. He hadn’t seen her before, but now she was standing in plain sight next to Zelda. “And how would we get into the Lost Woods, Link?” she asked. She wasn’t quite looking at him, but she was certainly looking in his direction. Link shuddered. The lens of truth was still at the bottom well in Kakariko village, but that didn’t mean anything. This was Impa and, as he had learned in Termina, there was more than one lens.

Link didn’t take off the mask when he spoke this time, “Get there within a week. Me and Kokiri will meet at entrance to Lost Woods. Will guide to village. Safe in village. Will not turn into stalfos or skullchild,” he paused for a second before continuing, “Only five Hylians allowed in. Cannot bring in swords or axes. Spears, bows, and daggers okay. No fire.”

There was murmuring in the crowd. The king was still red in the face and Zelda lip trembled as she looked in the direction his voice came from. Rauru was starting to recover, but still looked dazed. Impa spoke again. 

“Will the Gerudo be there as well?” 

Link started to nod before remembering that she couldn’t see him. Well, maybe she could, but nobody else would know how to look past the mask, “Yes. He is their king. Deserve to see justice too.” 

Impa nodded as Link ran out of the temple. He couldn’t stay. They were very mad. Link didn’t know what they would do to him if he was caught. Besides, he still needed to deal with the Gerudo.

* * *

There was thankfully no one near the spirit temple when Link appeared. He didn’t know if he could deal with that. He walked silently through the desert. The same poe that lead him in his old timeline was kind enough to lead him out in this one. As he walked he started reorganize his path. He wanted to be prepared this time. The Gerudo would be even more mad at him the Hylians were. He kept the stone mask near the top, that had worked well at the pirate fortress in Termina, but the Gerudo here had Koume and Kotake. They were witches, it might not work on them. He also brought his bow to the top, just in case. He hoped he wouldn’t need it. He hesitated before pulling out the fierce deity mask. He would kill them if he wore it. He steeled himself and hitched it to his belt. He didn’t want to kill people, but if Koume and Kotake attacked him he would die if they didn’t.    

Two hours later Link approached the Gerudo fortress. The gate was closed. He hadn’t thought of that. The fortress looked far better than it had in the future. It was still sandy and plain, but Link could see definite differences. There was what looked to be a small oasis in the courtyard. The walls were painted with flowers and vines, and, though they were subdued, children laughed and played. The fortress was different, but the guards were the same. 

Link needed to get their attention without getting locked up or killed. He needed to show he meant no harm. His hand fell to his ocarina. That could work. 

He put the ocarina to his lips and began to play. Saria’s song gently floated into the compound. Right now, he was an emissary from the Kokiri. It was appropriate that he identified himself as such. 

The effect was immediate. The children ran inside and the guards ran toward him. He was suddenly very glad he was behind the gates, as he quickly found half a dozen spears pointed at his face. 

The guards seemed nervous as they studied him. They started talking to each other in the Gerudo language. Link didn’t speak Gerudo. When he was training with them in the future they mostly spoke Hylian to him and Navi even translated that. Now, he could only pick up bits of words and he couldn’t even be sure if those were correct. He thought he heard “Hylian” and his name in there, but he couldn’t be sure. 

Link put his hands up and stared straight ahead, making sure not to make eye contact. He had to make sure they didn’t see him as a threat. He was still ready to run. While he didn’t have his sword, the fierce deity mask rested on his hip. The stone mask and his bow were on the top of his pack, he reminded . If it turned ugly, he would do everything he could run instead of fight. 

One of the guards left while the rest stood there staring him down. Link was unmoved. He had faced down far worse. It was what he was going to have to do next that worried him. 

The guard came back with another Gerudo woman wearing a white uniform. Link frowned, she was an officer, but not someone he recognized from the future. He told himself that she must have been elsewhere when he would be here. He knew that was a lie.

The woman knelt down until she was at his eye level. Link met them briefly before staring down at her shoes. They were worn and patched, but the buckles and leather had been recently polished.

“You are the boy who gave the Hylian bastard an excuse to murder our king.”

Link nodded, but didn’t speak. What could he say? “It was an accident” didn’t seem like it would be well received… and it wasn’t exactly an accident. 

“Well? Why are you here, brat? We have a war to prepare for, so speak up.”

Link opened and closed his mouth trying to find the words. After a few uncomfortable seconds he settled on “Ganondorf is in the Lost Woods. Kokiri will try him for killed Great Deku Tree.”

The Gerudo warriors stared at Link for several seconds before pandemonium broke loose. All of the guards started talking at once. One of the women in purple made to jab at him with her spear before the warrior next to her grabbed her arm. The officer was trying to make herself heard. More guards were coming over while others were running off. Curious children poked their heads out the doors while their mothers and aunts tried to pull them back inside. Link’s hands drifted to his pouch and he started preparing himself to run as fast as he possibly could. 

As Link started to think he truly would have to run away and try again later, several guards came running forward, including Nabooru. Link brightened as soon as he saw her. Even if she didn’t know him, Nabooru did know Ganondorf was up to something. His face fell again when he saw who was following her: Kotake and Koume, Ganodorf’s mothers. 

Link squared his shoulders and looked directly at them. His hand rested on his mask, but he looked confident. He felt like panicking. He could see Twinrova trying to freeze him, then burn him. He had, or had had, scars all along his right arm from that encounter. They had seemed to have disappeared when he became a child again.  If they hadn’t died when they did, Link wasn’t sure if he would have survived. That was in the future though, a future he couldn’t let happen. In the present, he realized, Koume and Kotake were the interim leaders of the Gerudo. 

Link readied himself to run as the twins advanced. They looked furious. Kotake spoke first. Her arms were crossed as she scowled down at Link, “So, the ochestrator of our king’s murder has come to tell us of his miraculous appearence in the Lost Woods.” 

“It would seem so, Kotake,” Koume answered, “What could possibly be his motive I wonder? What motives could a Hylian brat have for such a thing?”

They looked at him, and Link looked back and forth between them. Unlike in the Spirit Temple, it seemed that they were willing to let him speak. He looked at Nabooru. She stared down at him with a single-raised eyebrow.

Link swallowed hard and squared his shoulders again. He faced down the Hylians, he could face the Gerudo. “Hylian trial was wrong. They tried for what would happen, not what did happen. Kokiri only tries for Great Deku Tree.”

Nabooru spoke before the twins could start again, “And I suppose our king has already killed this Deku Tree?” Link nodded. While the way she said “our king” wasn’t exactly sarcastic, it didn’t carry a lot of respect either. 

The Gerudo around him started yelling and talking over each other. Some looked like they would attack him, others looked like they were going to attack each other. Link was very glad there was still a gate between him and them. Kotake let out a whistle and the warriors silenced. Behind the guards, Link could see Gerudo children peeking out of doorways. Their guardians had seemed to determine he was not too much of a threat and were peeking out with them. 

“So you claim our son has only committed the crime of killing a tree, not everything else you accused him of,” asked Koume. 

Link puffed out his chest, “The Great Deku Tree was spirit of the forest. He was leader of all forest children. We are danger of corruption without him!”

Nabooru looked at him thoughtfully, “but he hasn’t done anything else?”

Link looked at his feet, he wasn’t sure if they would believe him. The Hylians had, but now Link realized that was mostly because they wanted to. He would tell them anyway. If they tried to kill him, he would try to run, but, with the way they were looking at him, he might be forced to fight. “I stop him in the tomorrow. He tries to take triforce, I…” Link paused, how on Earth was he supposed to explain what happened next to people who didn’t want to believe him? Did the Gerudo even believe in the goddesses? Their spirit temple seemed to be devoted to something different. 

“You what?” Kotake asked, narrowing her eyes.

Link breathed in deeply before continuing, “I try to pull master sword. I am small. The goddesses made me sleep seven years. In the tomorrow, I am bigger, but Ganondorf destroys Hyrule. I defeat him. I kill him, but so many other people already dead. Need to stop him now!”

Nabooru stood up with her hands on her hips. She sneered at Link, staring down her nose at him. Link cringed. Of course they wouldn’t believe him.  “Look kid,” she said, “we all know he’s up to something, but there’s no way that’s true. Why in the world would the goddesses-”

Kotake interrupted her, “Be quiet, girl! Don’t be so hasty!” Nabooru stopped with her mouth hanging open. Even Koume looked shocked. Kotake ignored them and looked at Link, “If what you say is true, why would you care if the Hylians had an unjust trial. You just need him gone.”

Link looked her in the eye and said, “It is wrong to kill someone for something they have not done.”

Kotake cackled as she turned to face her sister. “Well sister, what do you say to that?”

Koume started to smirk as she locked eyes with her twin, “He certainly is an idealistic child!”

Kotake grinned, “Idealistic indeed! He is childish to think we would believe such an outrageous tale!”

“Outrageous and childish!”

“A complete fool!” 

As one they turned to Link and said, “We will come with you.”

“What!?” squawked Nabooru, looking in shock at the twins, “You cannot be serious. This is obviously a trap.”

Koume looked to Nabooru, “Silence, girl! Can’t you see?”

“The boy came to us hoping we would believe him that our king is in the Lost Woods,” Kotake continued.

“We we have not even received an emissary from Hyrule.”

“And we though he was to be executed today.”

“We are preparing for war.”

“Only a fool would think we would listen.”

They spoke in unison as Kotake looked to Link and Koume looked to the children peering out of the fortress, “Or a child.” 

Nabooru sighed, “Even if he is just a child, they’re probably using him. They already used him once as an excuse to execute our king.” 

Koume examined her nails, “It is a possibility.”

Kotake addressed Link again, “Boy, will the Hylians be there as well?”

Link nodded, “Should see what real justice looks like.” 

“You see!” Nabooru exclaimed, “They will just use this as an excuse to attack us. They’ll kill us and Ganondorf regardless of the outcome of the trial.” 

Nabooru was good, she was supposed to be on his side. Why was she so reluctant? Link frowned, “No, forest will protect. Not corrupted yet. If Hylians or Gerudo attack, wolfos, stalfos, and moblins will stop.” 

The Gerudo guards around him blanched, but Link only stood there, staring them down. How dare they insult the forest’s hospitality. 

After a while, Nabooru nodded, “Fine.”

Link nodded back, “No fire, no swords, no axes. Spears and daggers okay. Only five Gerudo allowed. Get to the forest within a week and the forest children will lead you in. You will come to no harm.” 

Koume cackled, “So many rules child. Kotake, it looks like you’ll have to stay here.”

Kotake matched her cackle and said, “So it seems, so it seems,” she turned to Nabooru, “You will be going too, girl. We know what you think of the Great Ganondorf. Perhaps seeing this will do you some good.”

Link didn’t think they were right, but he nodded all the same. The twins knew what Ganondorf was up to and Nabooru was the sage of spirit. There was no way that Nabooru would take any side but his. She was good after all and even if Ganondorf deserved a fair trial, he was still evil.

He ignored the gasps and shouting as he played the Minuet of the Forest and disappeared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought it was odd that the Temple of Time had a priest, but no services. Now it has services. That's what fanfiction is for. 
> 
> Now for the big headcanon thing. A lot of "good-guy" or "not-quite-evil" Ganondorf fics just shift the bad guy status from Ganondorf to Koume and Kotake. While I understand it and some of my favorite fanfics use it, I don't really like it. It really reinforces the old women are evil witches thing. I prefer to make things a little more complex. Don't get me wrong they are decidedly not good, but they aren't to blame. Nabooru is still with the Gerudo in this, too. In my universe, she doesn't actually leave until Ganondorf attempts to kidnap Zelda and she is not going to leave when there is a war brewing that is clearly Hyrule's fault.
> 
> Thanks for reading my rambling. Only one chapter left that will hopefully not take another three months. Sorry about that...


	4. Justice to Be Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I would get this up sooner! Camp Nanowrimo starts today and I refuse to leave this unfinished while I work on my original fiction. While you're reading this please keep in mind that the Kokiri are not mortal. I based a lot of their laws of the Seelie Court in traditional fairy tales, but not quite so... stark. On that note, there is bit of violence and an implied death in this chapter. I'm sorry if that bothers you.

The Gerudo arrived first, four days after their summons. Kotake rode on her broom accompanied by Nabooru and four other Gerudo warriors on swift, desert horses. One was meant to stay outside the forest with the horses while the rest ventured in. It was unspoken that she would serve as a messenger if the party did not return from the forest.

The party dismounted and Link met them as he said he would. Mido and Fado were waiting just on the other side of the log. All of the women, except for Kotake, carried spears. Link waited as the warriors arranged their gear. They said nothing. Link didn’t either.

The Gerudo shifted uneasily as Link motioned for them to follow him into the forest. Link frowned. They wanted to be here didn’t they? 

“The rest of the Kokiri wait and the forest is dangerous at night,” he said, “We need go.”

The Gerudo exchanged looks, but stayed put. Link crossed his arms. They needed to get going. Mido and Fado were waiting. Link did not want to make them wait. Mido was still furious that they were allowing outsiders into the forest.

For a few seconds, Link and the Gerudo just stared at each other. Then Nabooru spoke, “The Kokiri aren’t with you. How do we know you’re not leading us into a Hylian trap?”

Link glared, “Kokiri will die if they leave the forest. Two are waiting on other side of log. The Hylians is not here.”

Nabooru looked ready to argue some more when Kotake cackled, “Look at the boy! He couldn’t set a trap to save his life!” Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Nabooru, “Besides, don’t you know the children of the forest can’t lie.”

Nabooru was trying hard to look down her nose at the hag. Kotake was making this difficult by hovering with her broom at Nabooru’s eye level. Nabooru huffed. “The boy isn’t a Kokiri.”

Link’s face contorted into a snarl and he stomped his foot. Nabooru was the sage of spirit. She wasn’t supposed to be like this! “I am a forest child! I do not lie! I am not evil!”

Nabooru blinked, taking a step back and Kotake cackled again, “Come, let us follow the boy into the Lost Woods,” her smile dropped and her eyes darkened as she turned to Link, “Take us to my son.”

Link nodded and started walking. The five Gerudo warily followed him through the log. Just as Link had said, Mido and Fado were on the other side. Fado looked mildly annoyed, but Mido looked the physical incarnation of the word “grumpy”. His arms were crossed and his lower lip was stuck out in an enormous pout. There was a hole in the grass from where he had obviously been grinding his foot. When he saw Link his eyes, solid black like the rest of the Kokiri, narrowed. “What took you so long!?” he snapped in a voice that sounded like crackling leaves. His fairy danced angrily around his head. 

Some of the Gerudo visibility recoiled. The dissonance between Mido’s whiny voice and his fairie’s tingling translation was jarring. Link just crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “The Lost Woods makes them nervous. It took time to convince them to enter.”

Fado’s eyebrows drew together, “Do they doubt our hospitality?” 

Link shrugged, “They are mortal and we have their king. They are scared.”’

“Himph!” Mido stuck his nose in the air, “If they’re scared they shouldn’t be here. We’ll just tell them what happened afterward.”

Link and Fado shared a look before motioning for the Gerudo to start following them, leaving Mido to his dramatics. 

It was a quiet walk through the Lost Woods. This time the Kokiri didn’t bother with the scuttling and hiding; neither did the other forest inhabitants. Kokori, skullkids, stalfos, wolfos, moblins, and many other forest creatures sat watching the strange outsiders. Nabooru walked with her back straight and her chin high. The other warriors followed her example. Kotake was still on her broom, surveying the forest. She looked concerned by what she saw. 

Saria greeted them at the entrance of Kokiri village. In the past two weeks, more and more fairies had been drawn to her as the new guardian of the forest. Now, she had a small swarm buzzing around her head like an ethereal crown. There were small plants growing from her skin and some of her hair had become grass. Link had always thought she looked magical, but now, he could swear he could see flashes of it dancing across her skin. She looked like how the forest felt. 

She opened her arms as the Gerudo entered the clearing. “Welcome,” she decreed, and it was a decree, warning the other forest children that these were guests, “It is good that you are here. We have cleared a place for you to set up camp.” She gestured to a clearing on the North side of the village, nodded, and then began to walk away.

Kotake jumped off her broom and made to rush after Saria. Branches snapped and the wind whistled. The forest buzzed as it waited for her to make a wrong move. She hesitated, glancing around briefly, before setting calling out, “Wait! Where is the Great Ganondorf?” she scanned the clearing once more, “Where is my son?”

Saria turned and the forest held its breath. Her eyes were a solid white instead of their usual inky black. The Gerudo stiffened and flinched. Kotake took a step back. Link blanched. He knew what she was doing. She was looking into Kotake’s mind and Kotake’s mind in particular. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for someone without a direct link to the forest. Link knew that from experience. He shuddered. 

It was only a matter of seconds before Saria’s eyes returned to black, but for all the tension, it may as well been eons. Saria nodded and Kotake nearly collapsed. Link was struck with how human and mortal she looked in that moment. Saria turned to one of the other Kokiri, “She may visit the accused.”

The Kokiri led Kotake into the Lost Woods, towards the forest temple. The remaining Gerudo set up camp. When she came back she was smiling, though making sure not to show her teeth, and had tears in her eyes.

* * *

It was another two days before the Hylians arrived. Four men rode regally on horseback. The man at the front was obviously a knight. He had a large shield bearing his own coat of arms in addition to the large Hylian standard mounted to a pike and flowing in the wind. Impa walked beside them. Even from a distance, Link could see how tense she was. As they got closer, Link could see why.

While Impa was sensibly carrying several daggers, each of the soldiers was carrying a broadsword at his side. Link groaned. He had known the Knights of Hyrule had a tendency toward arrogance, but he had given very specific instructions. He couldn’t let them in with swords. They would all be gutted, Link included. Wolfos and moblins didn’t discriminate.

They rode directly to Link, swords glittering in the afternoon sun. Impa shot him a look that could have been an apology. It seemed even her unerring patience was wearing thin. Link suppressed a sigh. The denizens of the forest didn’t take well to mortal arrogance. 

The knights stared down at Link for a few minutes. Link was confused. They were still on their horses. What did they want him to do? “Well, boy!?” the knight demanded, “Take us through!”

Link stared at him for a moment. He couldn’t be serious. “No swords, no horses,” he said slowly. The man was obviously stupid. Link would have to be very clear. 

The man scoffed, “I am a knight of Hyrule and these are my soldiers. We must have swords. It wouldn’t be right otherwise! And we must take our horses. We have no squire to take care of them.”

Link wanted to roll his eyes and tell them that was their own fault. If their horses felt any affection for them they would stay and wait. Hylians had funny ideas about that, though, so instead he gestured to where the extra Gerudo warrior had set up camp with her horses, “If you ask, nice Gerudo might take care of them. Very good with horses. Can leave swords with them.”

The knight's eyes bulged and Impa’s twinkled with silent laughter. Link unconsciously reached a hand back to rub the back of his neck. That was a silly suggestion. Of course Hylian soldiers wouldn’t trust a Gerudo with their horses. 

“You want us to leave our equipment with a thief! Of all the outrageous ideas! Boy, you have-”

The knights tirade was interrupted with a sharp whistle from Impa. A Sheikah boy appeared with a cloud of blue smoke. Link blinked. The boy looked almost identical Sheik. There were certainly differences: the boy had brown hair instead of blond, and his eyes were a bright green instead of red, but the outfit and posture were the same. Impa whispered quickly to the boy and he nodded. She turned to face the soldiers and Link, “Iros will stay here with the horses,” she turned all of her attention to Link, “I assume we need to get through before nightfall?”

Link nodded. Impa understood. That was good. 

The knight scoffed again and glared at Impa, “Fine!” he sneered, “but I am a Knight of Hyrule. I will be keeping my sword.” 

Link was having an increasingly hard time fighting the urge to roll his eyes, “No swords. The guardians will kill you.”

One of the soldiers decided to pipe up then in support of his bright red superior. “You have a sword,” he said, pointing to the gilded sword on Link’s back. 

Link nodded, that was at least a more reasonable reaction, but the Hylians were still in a very different situation, “I am a forest child. You are outsiders.”

The soldier seemed to think about it and nodded, getting off of his horse and handing his sword to Iros. The rest of the soldiers followed suit. The knight, still fuming on his horse, glared at Link. Link met his gaze and smiled a distinctly Kokiri smile. This continued for several seconds before the knight finally got down and shoved his sword at the young Sheikah. Before giving the horse over, the knight grabbed the pike with the Hylian standard. “I’m taking this with me,” he growled, daring Link to challenge him. Link shrugged. He’d said spears and daggers were okay. 

As they entered the log, they were met with Mido grousing, just like had been the case with the Gerudo. Link was in a much worse mood this time. He cut Mido off mid-grumble, “Let’s just go. The shiny one’s an idiot.”

Mido and Fado looked shocked. Link ignored it. He knew he was being a bit short, but he had a distinct feeling that if they didn’t get through the forest quickly something bad was going to happen. 

A few minutes later, Links feelings were proved correct. It was a skullkid that started it. They Gerudo were rather fond of the mischievous forest children and had been letting them explore their camp. That was probably what gave the imp the courage to go and approach the knight’s shield. It was shiny and the skullkid was curious. The knight was not amused.

He tried to shoo the skullkid away. It worked for about half a minute before the skullkid was back poking at the shield. A bejeweled dagger on the knight’s belt caught its eye and it went to make a grab at it. The knight snarled and grabbed the dagger first. In the same motion he backhanded the skullkid. The iron dagger cut the child and it screamed, clutching its burning cheek. There was an abrupt silence. Then the forest descended on the foolish knight. 

Link only had time to push the rest of the soldiers and Impa back as the knight flailed. A moblin launched itself out of a dense thicket, grabbing the knights neck. His scream game out as a gurgle. He thrashed as he was pulled through the hedge. The other soldiers were frozen, but Impa pulled dagger to go help the doomed man. Link caught her wrist in a vice-like grip before she could make a move. She looked at him in surprise, but Link just set his jaw, though his eyes were blown wide and he trembled slightly. He would not let her die to save a fool who had broken the law of the forest. Link could not save him, either. The moblins were not yet corrupted. They were still the guardians of the forest and he could not hope to stand in one’s way. There was thrashing as the knight completely disappeared into the thicket. A wolfos howled. There was a sickening crunch. The forest was still. 

Fado turned and smiled at the remaining Hylian delegation. “That is a warning,” she said, “You are not in Hyrule. You will follow out laws.” With that she gestured for them to continue following. 

A little way off, the Gerudo warrior assigned to watch the approaching Hylians was sick in a bush. 

* * *

 

That night, the air in Kokiri village was thick with unease. The Hylian delegation was huddled on one side of the village, the Gerudo on the opposite. The Kokiri, who bristled at the mortals in their midst, were between them. With all the witnesses present, Ganondorf’s trial would be in the morning. 

The Gerudo camp was quiet. They were allowed no fire as it could pose a threat to the safety of the forest. Instead, they were crowded together, wrapped in furs around a fairy light. The young Gerudo warrior who had witnessed the Hylian knights demise was curled tightly next to Nabooru, who was gently stroking her hair. The poor girl had yet to see a battle, but had insisted on coming as a way to prove her bravery. No one voiced what they all knew: if the Kokiri found their king guilty he would be killed on the spot. There would be no chance for rescue or escape. In a way, it kinder than the Hylian way of celebrating and making a spectacle of an execution. However, it offered no hope. 

On the Hylian side, each of soldiers huddled in on himself, mourning their commander. He hadn’t been a particularly good commander or a particularly good man, for that matter, but he hadn’t deserved to die. They wouldn’t speak of him on this night, though. That would have to wait for when they were out of hostile territory. They had been told they were going to a distant part of Hyrule. A wild part, but a part nonetheless. This was not Hyrule. 

Impa had made the remainder of the soldiers and herself give the rest of their weapons to the Kokiri. There would be no more “accidents”. The soldiers believed that at least the cruel way in which their commander was punished meant that the Gerudo king stood no chance of pardon. Impa wondered about that. She knew that  laws were different here. The girl who was the judge was not mortal. The forest was not a mortal domain. It was pointless to speculate though. The answer would be clear in the morning. 

* * *

 

Every denizen of the forest was in the Great Deku Tree’s clearing the next day. His blackened corpse stood as a harsh reminder of the reason for the gathering. The Gerudo and the Hylians stood next to each other. They would not fight. They could only guess the consequences for that. It was a comfort, though, to stand next to other mortal creatures in the middle of the Lost Woods. Its immortal and monstrous inhabitants rustled in a whispered language around them. 

Kotake hovered on her broom to see the center of the clearing clearly. Her son would be there soon. She could not guess what the outcome of this would be or how she would react. The forest seemed to make even her own actions too wild a thing to guess. She looked at the boy in green, Link, and briefly wondered how he had managed to stay sane living here for his entire childhood. She watched as he caught a bird out of the air and killed it, cutting it open and eating it raw as a morning snack. She supposed that perhaps he hadn’t. 

A hush washed over the clearing as Saria entered. She had gotten even more otherworldly since she had greeted the Gerudo. The number of fairies in her swarm had grown substantially larger so that she was now largely obscured from view. Her skin had grown to have a texture like a birch tree’s bark. What had changed most, however, was her voice. It was no longer the voice of a child, but the voice of the forest itself, deep and ancient. It was clear that, for the trial at least, she was the avatar of the forest. 

“We gather today,” she began, “to try the Gerudo king Ganondorf for the murder of the Great Deku Tree.” An unnatural hiss ran through the clearing. It silenced abruptly at an invisible command. “Bring forward the accused.”

The Gerudo king stumbled into the clearing. He looked dazed, but none the worse for wear. In fact, he looked better than when he arrived. His hair and clothes were clean. Any small injuries he had when he had arrived were cleaned and bandaged.  He wore no chains. 

Saria addressed him directly, “Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo, you stand accused of murdering the Great Deku Tree. Have you been informed of your rights?”

The Know-It-All Brother acting as Ganondorf’s attorney nudged him. He straightened his back, “I have and I have been informed of your laws as well.”

“You understand that past ignorance does not make you exempt from any crimes you have committed nor will it gain you linency?”

Ganondorf nodded. 

“Do you have any questions before we begin?”

Ganondorf paused for a moment then asked, “After the trial, will the Gerudo be expected to cross Hyrule without escort?” He carefully avoided whether or not he would be one of the Gerudo. 

Saria tilted her head in consideration, “It will be discussed after the trial.”

Ganondorf nodded again. 

Saria nodded back, “Then we will begin.”

She extended her arms and the fairies around her began to scatter. However, soon their seemingly random movement took shape. Each one found a place in a tight circle. It grew as more faires gathered, communicating in chimes and whistles. The other Kokiri’s faires joined them and even more fairies erupted from the surrounding forest. Soon, the circle was almost 15 feet wide, with none of the fairies more than an inch apart. When their circle was fully formed, one by one the fairies started to glow. They glow spread between them and a screen made entirely of magic materialized. 

The forest stood in awe. Even the Kokiri were awestruck by the display. It was a feat of magic few would ever see again. They hoped they would never have to. 

Ganondorf stood gobsmacked as Saria began to speak. He had been told what would happen, but seeing it was a shock.  “Every inhabitant of the forest is part of the forest; every wolfos, every bird, every branch. We are connected and through this connection the forest sees all,” it was impossible to see unless you were looking for it, but Saria breathed deeply before continuing, “I am the forest… and I will show you what I have seen.”

The screen started to fade before there was a flash and a scene appeared. Ganondorf was standing before the Great Deku Tree. He wore battle armor, but carried a trident instead of a sword. His hair was long, almost down to his hips. His face was set in a grim mask of determination. The Deku Tree wore a matching one. 

“You are dying,” Ganondorf said, “Give me the Koakiri’s Emerald and I will save you.”

The Great Deku Tree gave him a long look, “You have cursed me.”

The Gerudo King smirked, “I have used no magic.”

“Without you, the Gohma would not be within me. She has eaten away my very core. That is enough of a curse.”

He examined his trident, “It is true that I struck a deal with the Gohma Queen. She asked me to tell her where she could find a suitable place for her brood. In return, she will fight for me if I call on her.” 

The Great Deku Tree huffed, “You have made a deal with her and you break it so easily! I would never give such a treasure to a liar and a deal-breaker, much less one who causes my death!”

Ganondorf turned a fiery gaze to the Great Deku Tree, “You were dying long before this. You core has been rotting for decades. You wouldn’t make a good home for a Gohma if that weren’t the case. She will keep you alive to care for her brood far longer than you would have lived on your own. Perhaps even long enough for you to swallow your pride and make a deal with me.”

“You are a liar! And still you would break your deal with the Gohma so easily! You will never have my emerald.”

Ganondorf smirked, “My part of the bargain has long been fulfilled, and we will see about the emerald.”

The scene shifted and the crowd murmured its unease. The Gerudo looked at each other in despair. Their king was going to die. He may not have been the direct cause of the Great Deku Tree’s death, but he was the cause. 

A new scene flashed into focus, it was much the same as was the conversation in it. The Great Deku Tree’s bark had cracks that hadn’t been there before. Ganondorf’s hair was still long.

“You still have a chance, give the emerald to me and you will live for years to come.”

“You are an evil man and you still presume to ask me for the forest’s most precious treasure! I would sooner die!”

Ganondorf’s eyes darkened. “We will see!” he snapped and with a flourish of his cape, walked into thin air. More murmuring took over the clearing as several similar scenes played one after the other. Each time Ganondorf asked offered to save the Great Deku Tree in exchange for the Kokiri’s Emerald. Each time the Great Deku Tree refused. Then there was one that was different. 

 Ganondorf had short hair in this one. The Great Deku Tree was dark and gray. His leaves were wilting. They both looked tired. 

“You will be dead soon,” Ganondorf mused, more to himself than to the tree.

“I will. And then you will never be able to get your greedy hands on the Kokiri’s Emerald.”

Ganondorf shook his head, “No, offering to save you has been more of a courtesy than anything else. Once you are gone, the forest will be weak and I will get what I want.”

“You lie!” the tree roared, sending the birds in his branches flying, “You do not have the power to steal from the forest!”

Ganondorf grinned a cruel, twisted grin, “Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve been searching and I’ve finally found the power I need,” his eyes burned as he looked into the dying eyes of the Great Deku Tree, “It may not be mine quite yet, but it's only a matter of time. The Kokiri’s Emerald will be mine and so will the triforce.”

The tree roared. “Get out!,” he screamed, “Get out of my forest, you demon. You will destroy the world with your greed! Get out!”

Ganondorf bowed in a way that wasn’t quite mocking, “I don’t believe I will see you again. Enjoy your last few weeks.” With that he disappeared. 

The forest murmured as the fairies dispersed. The Gerudo King hadn’t quite murdered the Great Deku Tree. Oh, he had played his part, that was for sure, but he hadn’t murdered him. The tree had died as a result of Ganondorf’s deal a monster. In Hylian law, that may have been a heinous crime, but forest law was different. Both the Hylians and the Gerudo were stunned. This was not what either side had expected. Kotake was the only one who didn’t seem surprised. 

Saria stared at the space where the fairies had been as they gathered around her once again. She blinked twice before regaining her composure. “We have seen the crime through the eyes of the forest. Now we must hear the reasoning of the accused,” she turned towards Ganondorf, “Why did you do this?”

“To gain the power of the triforce.”

“And why did you want that?”

Ganondorf pressed his lips together. For a few seconds he said nothing, then he straightened his back, “My people are dying. The desert grows and our crops fail. We have asked the Hylians for help, but they refuse. They believe us to be nothing more than vermin. I want Hyrule. I want land I can use to feed my people and watch my daughters grow strong.” It was an answer a protector, a leader, a  _ king _ would give and the whole forest knew it. 

Saria nodded, “Did you intend to break your deal with the Gohma Queen.”

“It was as I told the Great Deku Tree. My deal with the Gohma was simple. I would tell her where a safe place for her brood was and she would serve me if I asked. My end of the bargain was fulfilled.”

“The Gohma was not safe. Link killed her at the Great Deku Tree’s request.”

Ganondorf sneered, “How was I supposed to know that the great fool would send a child with a sword to slay a monster? No sane being would do that.”

The Know-It-All brother next to Ganondorf cleared his throat, “If an external immortal power interferes with a deal made between two mortals, neither of the mortals can be held responsible for the breach in contract.”

Saria looked at the Kokiri boy coldly, “Thank you for that,” she turned her attention back to Ganondorf, “And all of your statements were true?”

“Yes.”

Saria raised an eyebrow, “Even the one about having the power to steal from the forest?”

Ganondorf smiled thinly, “I didn’t say I had it, I said it would only be a matter of time.”

“And how were you going to get that power?”

“The truth is I was either going to take the emerald from whatever forest child the great tree gave it to or use one of the other spiritual stones as a source of power. Those were truly only a matter of time. I did have a feeling the fool would send the Hylian boy in his care to Hyrule with it, though. Where would it be safer than in the protection of the goddesses. He seemed like an easy target.”

“Why don’t you have it then?”

Ganondorf scowled, “External immortal intervention.”

“Explain.”

Ganondorf turned to Link and glared, “Why don’t you ask the boy over there? He was their tool.”

Saria nodded to Link and he stood up. Once more he told his story. He left out nothing. Saria or one of the Know-It-All brothers would ask questions when something wasn’t clear. When he was done there was silence. 

Saria sighed, “That certainly was external immortal interference. Link, do you still have the emerald?”

Link nodded and took it from his pouch. He had forgotten it was still there. Zelda had given it back to him after they first accused Ganondorf what felt like years ago. Now, he gave it from Saria. 

“Thank you Link,” she turned to the crowd, “We have seen the evidence, heard from the accused, and consulted a witness. The forest will now deliberate.”

Saria’s eyes glowed white and the clearing rustled as if there was a great wind though the air was completely still. Creatures great and small spoke in whispers, clicks, and the crackle of leaves. Bugs buzzed in the air and crawled from their hiding places, dancing at each other in near silent arguments. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped and Saria’s eyes returned to black.

“We have come to a decision,” she said. The forest knew what it was, every creature and every leaf. They still waited with baited breath. “The accused has not broken any of our laws. He has not lied, he has not broken a promise, and he did not directly cause the death of the Great Deku Tree.” The Hylians looked like they were about to protest, but the forest waited. It knew Saria was not done and the Hylians found the could not speak. Saria smiled, “However, while our laws have not been directly breached, this man is still dangerous. He admits to having planned to steal both the Kokiri Emerald and the Triforce. If he were a denizen of the forest he would be kept under careful watch in the Kokiri village. However, he is an outsider. He cannot stay here. Instead, he will have a minder from the forest.” Saria turned to Link. She looked sad. Link’s stomach dropped. He knew where this was going and he didn’t like it. “Link, you will go with the Gerudo and make sure none of what you have seen comes to pass,” she turned back to the clearing, “We cannot punish a man for what he has not done, but we can move to stop him. The trial is adjourned. The accused has been declared not guilty with complications.”

With that, the forest dispersed. There was no arguing. There was nothing to be argued. The forest had spoken. The decision was made. Skullkids and stalfos fade their way back into the lost woods. Moblins went back to their roles as guardians. Bugs and beetles crawled back into their holes and hiding places. In a matter of minutes, only the Gerudo, the Hylians, Saria, and Link were left in the clearing. 

The Gerudo and the Hylians stood there dazed. Ganondorf was looking at his hands like he couldn’t believe they were still there. 

Saria ignored them as she turned to Link. “I’m so sorry!” she cried, “I know this is hard. This is so, so hard.” Link felt numb as she hugged him. He didn’t want to go. This was his home and he had only just gotten back. “Please understand,” she said, “you aren’t Kokiri and now everyone knows it. You can’t stay here and he,” her eyes darted to the still stunned Ganondorf, “needs watching. It was a solution to both problems. I’m so sorry.”

Link hugged her back as tears started dripping down his cheeks, “I don’t want to go.” 

Link let go of Saria in surprise as he felt Impa kneel down next to them. She put her hand on Link’s shoulder. She hesitated for a second, then scooped him into a hug. When she let him go, she said, “I’m sorry Link, but Lady Saria is right. This is for the best. You cannot come back to Hyrule. The king is already furious. When he hears the outcome of the trial and the fate of our knight commander, he will be enraged. He may have you executed.”

Link was shocked. What he did was right. It was good. But, he supposed, for the king of Hyrule it must look bad. Why did everything have to be so complicated? A thought struck him. He looked at Impa with wide eyes, “What about Epona?”

Impa smiled gently, “Your horse will be fine. When things settle down, I’ll even send her to you with one of my apprentices.” Link nodded. He felt a little better hearing that. 

The Hylian soldiers looked like they would be frozen for several more minutes, but the the Gerudo were starting to recover. Kotake had even gotten off of her broom to run over and hug her son. It was weird for Link to think of them as being family. They were evil. He swallowed, they were evil and Link was going to have to go back with them. Link looked over at Nabooru who was looking rather conflicted. At least she would be there too. He hoped. In the other timeline, she would have already left.

Link wanted to run as Ganondorf started walking over to them. He had to stay strong though. He would have to be doing that a lot. Impa stood up as the Gerudo King approached. Her face was hard. Link prepared himself to stop a fight. 

Ganondorf ignored her and turned to Link, “Well, kid, I can’t say this was what I was expecting.”

Link just shrugged. What could he say? He had expected the man to be dead by now. 

There was an awkward dip in the conversation before Ganondorf spoke again, “It looks like you’ll be coming with us,” he narrowed his eyes at Link, “Let me tell you that if- Ow! Mother!”

Link eyebrows shot up as he saw Kotake standing next to Ganondorf. Link hadn’t noticed she was there, but she had apparently just swatted her sons leg. She glared at him in the way only a mother could, “Don’t be rude. Whether he meant to or not, this boy saved your life!”

“Mother! He wants me dead!”

“He gave you a fair trial, which is far more than what we can say about the Hylians. We can’t argue with the verdict, not with that little magic display. Now, I’m sure you have something to say other than threats.”

Ganondorf glowered then breathed out and ran a hand down his face, “You’re right,” he turned to Link, “Thank you. You did not accept an injustice that would have gotten you what you wanted. I owe you my life because of it.”

Kotake nodded, “Good! Now we have a camp to back up and we need a plan on how to get back to the valley. Between the two of us, I’m sure we can teleport with the people, but the horses are another matter.” With that she led Ganondorf away, winking at Link as she left. 

Impa blinked and shook her head as she watched the duo walk off. She turned back to Link, “Link, what you did was very brave, but Hyrule and its king are very unhappy. With what’s just happened,” she shook her head and looked at Saria, “Make sure the forest is prepared. The king believes these woods belong to Hyrule. He will not be pleased when he learns otherwise. Be wary of any outsiders.”

Saria smiled, showing off the sharp edges of her teeth, “We always are.”

Then she too left, going over to collect her still-stunned soldiers. It would be a long ride back to Hyrule Castle. 

Saria gave Link another hug, “We need to get you ready.”

* * *

A few hours later, Link was standing with the Gerudo delegation on the edge of Lost Woods watching Ganondorf and Kotake discuss the best way to teleport horses. It was a surreal experience. All of his meager belongings were in his pouch or strapped to his back. He shuffled his feet glumly. He was leaving home with his worst enemy and he wouldn’t be coming back. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Nabooru. She was smiling at him a little sadly.

“It will be okay, little one,” she said, “Most of the Gerudo aren’t going to like hearing about their king’s plans. We will not fall to the Hylians, but we are not going to follow him in that direction. The world will not end. We will make sure of that.”

Link nodded. Nabooru was right. Ganondorf was still alive, but the future was already changed. Anything they did now was new. Ganondorf did not have to be dead for him to save Hyrule. He just didn’t know if it was Hyrule that he needed to be worried about saving. He looked at Impa and the three Hylian soldiers riding toward Hyrule castle. He would find out soon enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's done! You probably saw that coming right from chapter 1. You may have noticed that I left open the possibility for a sequel. If I get any, and I do mean any, interest that will probably happen. Link still has a lot of growing to do and I don't want to leave Zelda were she is.
> 
> Also, I really like Koume and Kotake. I like to think that they really like children. Based on their characterizations in Majora's Mask I decided that they would find Link hilarious. 
> 
> If you have any questions about my headcanons or how things work feel free to ask. I have pages of notes that I would love to share. 
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is encouraged. I hope you enjoyed this!


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